Racial Discrimination and Hispanics in the United States

Racial discrimination has a long history in the United States of America. It dates back to the days of slavery. Mexican descendants are migrating to the United States at an alarming rate. The culture that the Mexicans experience in their own country is very different from the culture they experience upon arriving in the United States of America. The U. S. Census Bureau created the label “Hispanic” for convenience. Some people of Spanish descent think of themselves as “Hispanic” and others prefer the term “Latino”; however, most identify with a particular country, such as Cuba, Argentina, or Spain (Macionis 2006) Hispanics accounted for 14.8 percent of the population in the United States of America in 2006 (www.prb.org). The percentage was 15.4 percent in 2008. Hispanics owned 6.8 percent of the businesses in 20002 (www.census.gov). Hispanics and Latinos come to America for a better life. Someone in our sociology class advised that her husband’s family migrated to America where they could have a better life. She stated that once a person reached the age of 30 or so they were forced to retire. She also stated that the people working in Mexico only make about $60.00 to support their families.

It would be hard to move to a different country in which the people spoke a language that you did not speak or understand. The older people that are living in the United States rely on their children and grandchildren to translate for them when they have to communicate with people that only speak the English language. Many older Hispanic adults do not have any formal education. The younger generation that is living in America now is completing at least high school. Some even go on to college and become successful college students. There are programs in some schools that offer the curriculum taught in bilingual. Many school systems across America are experiencing budget cuts and some of these bilingual programs may be cut, even if they have been successful. One such...